There are also some circomstances that I understand private (nickname targeted) messages can be snooped by certain opers on some servers/ networks, in instances where that user is suspected of spamming or harassment or whatnot.
I dont know if any checks are in place to prevent unwarranted snooping on people obviously not spamming, but the general rule of thumb is any machine you communicate to or through-- has the ability to spy on your conversation, sometimes very easily.
Larger networks are more trustworthy, while smaller privately run servers are more likely to have a voyeur admin/ oper.
- Raccoon
